Carr in Bali for talks on people smuggling

The Australian Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, says Australia is hoping to secure more cooperation on stopping asylum seeker boats at a forum in Bali.

Senator Carr and Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor are in Indonesia for the Bali Process forum.

It has been running for more than 10 years and aims to stop people smuggling and human trafficking.

Senator Carr says he hopes the forum can achieve greater regional cooperation on people smuggling and human movement.

"There are tens of millions of people in the world who are adrift, homeless, looking for somewhere to go," he said.

"You need regional cooperation if you are to see that they are to be treated humanely and that borders are respected and that you have an orderly handling of the movement of peoples."

Senator Carr says he will be seeking the development of policy guidelines to help countries criminalise human trafficking.

"That's necessary if you are to overcome the wretchedness of slavery, the enslavement of people and their transference across and through borders," he said.

Call for action

On stopping asylum seeker boats arrivals in Australia, Senator Carr said more progress was needed.

"You need a range of actions to stop the boats," he said.

"You need action in countries that are generating the flow of people, like Afghanistan and Iran.

"You need law enforcement action directed at the people smugglers and prosecution.

"We've seen progress, but we want more."

The Australian Government's regional processing policy will be on the agenda at the forum, and Senator Carr has renewed calls for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to allow the Malaysia solution to proceed.

The forum comes after more than 100 asylum seekers arrived in Australia over the long weekend. And last week, two asylum seekers were killed when their boat capsized off Christmas Island.

Despite accusations of a rocky Indonesia-Australia relationship, Senator Carr says the ties between the two countries "have never been better".

Officially there are about 3,000 asylum seekers in Indonesia, at any one time.

Indonesia is reportedly preparing to ask Australia to accept more refugees who are waiting in Indonesia.

UN figures

The United Nations refugee agency says there has been a significant increase in the number of people coming to Indonesia and registering with its office.

The UNHCR says 7,200 people are currently registered as refugees in Indonesia.

More than 40 boats have arrived in Australia this year, and the UN says the trend is likely to continue as people flee war-torn countries such as Afghanistan.

The UNHCR says there is an urgent need for Asia-Pacific nations to step up and cooperate on a growing problem.

The agency has the task of registering refugees and asylum seekers, and then assessing their status.

At the end of January, the office reported a backlog of more than 4,000 people waiting for their first interview.

A UN fact sheet says it expects the trend of arrivals is likely to continue, and the long waiting period for interviews and resettlement may see more risk a perilous journey to Australia by boat.